Thread: 7 day value, restore vs. improve

I'll try and get some good pics tonight and post them. last night I did the hot water and soap with a toothbrush thing to all of them. dried them off then started polishing a second handle (one already pretty much done). If I keep excercising poor self control I may have to sell them!

hey Glen, how do you polish them? I accidently hit a plastic scale the other day with the dremel running low, kind mussed up the scale a bit. I have been rubbing by hand cause I am worried I'll mess them upw the felt bob. they do cleanup well still, but I know in the time it takes to do one by hand there has to be a way to do them all mechanically.

Red

Originally Posted by Big Red

hey Glen, how do you polish them? I accidently hit a plastic scale the other day with the dremel running low, kind mussed up the scale a bit. I have been rubbing by hand cause I am worried I'll mess them upw the felt bob. they do cleanup well still, but I know in the time it takes to do one by hand there has to be a way to do them all mechanically.

Red

I don't know about mechanically Red, I do them by hand....
usually 800 - 2000 grit then an X-fine micro-mesh rub down....
Then MAAS and finally Renaissance Wax it leaves them pretty much looking new again, and takes out any scratches etc:
I guess a buffer with a soft cloth wheel and plastic polish would work PDQ, but I am normally working on other people's razors, so slow and safe, is more my style..... I have found out the hard way, that fast spinning wheels and razors tend to be a bad mix

what's micro-mesh? similar to using 0000 steel wool?

the hand method is nice from the standpoint that I don't have to look at it as closely, can watch a movie or something else while doing it.

Red

3M Scotch-Brite Hand Pads : 3M Sanding Pads and Sponges : Abrasives - Polishing Wheels, Moore's Discs, Satin Finish Wheels, Abrasive Paper, Miniature Mandrels : Tools & Metals : Otto Frei 3M Scotch-Brite Hand Pads - Jewelry Tools, Jewelry Suppli

This stuff
You DO NOT have to order this stuff, they normally have it at Wally World or Home Depot, just grab the finest they have.... It polishes stuff up really easy and lasts for ever....


This is real Micro Mesh which you can get crazy high grits in if you want to go there

http://www.sisweb.com/micromesh/mmr_pads.htm

Sorry it took me so long guys, I got the pics but then kept forgetting the camera at my office. here they are.

the second pic shows the faint markings on the backs of the blades, really you have to be at the right angle or you can't even make them out. it is like a frosted area, as if that area was just left unpolished. not sure how they did that, anybody know?

the bottomp ic shows the handles, some are black (all of them right side shiny left side oxidized or whatever). one razor is showing left side black but that is because I already rubbed it out. they clean up easily and real nice. only the one blade, second down which should be Monday, is smaller than the 3/4 marked on the blades. but it doesn't show excessive hone wear so I don't know. it does have a metal spacer rather than whatever the white one is on the others.

should I sell the whole set or would I get more money for them individually? keep one and sell the others? there are some real sweet blades going through the classifieds right now.

thanks all.

Red

200$ is a very good price, considering that these are in very good condition (the blades).

Personally I never care about collector value. Someone else's opinion about my razors is irrelevant. I am the one whose opinion really counts. And I restore my razors to be as good as possible. If the scales are bust, then I remove them and make new ones.

And if that decreases the collector value, then so be it. I don't care for collectors anyway. Tools are made for using. Not for putting them away in a glass prison. collectors are the ones who drive up prices and prevent users from enjoying them.
For every collector who thnks the value decreases, there are at least 2 shavers who think the value has gone up because the razors themselves have improved as tools for using.

Btw, in the restoration business, the same goes for books.
My mother is a master book restorer, and restores old books (100 - 300 years old).
Books that are skillfully restored using authentic materials (and as much of the original material as possible) are worth far more than the same books as-is. It is a myth that restoration decreases value.
True, old mint is worth more than old restored, but old restored is worth far more than old and in a mediocre state.

That set is in pretty good shape! I working on a set very similar to yours right now. As Glenn suggested, just clean them up and they will look new. On synthetic materials, I will use a polymer wax. I use a Renaissance wax on natural materials. Your case can be cleaned up also. In today's market, I think you would be disappointed if you sold them individually. I agree also with using them. With not much work, you will have a very nice set.